Goldman Sachs says US growth probably as good as it gets

The current rate of growth in the United States is likely to slow from this point, according to the top economist at Goldman Sachs.

The investment bank’s second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) tracking model for the U.S. has risen to 3.7 percent, pushed higher by input from recent jobs and manufacturing data that have blown past expectations. The May employment report revealed a first-print 223,000 increase in nonfarm payrolls and a drop in the unemployment rate to a near five-decade low of 3.75 percent.

Jan Hatzius, Goldman’s chief economist, said in a research note published Monday that the tailwind effect of fiscal stimulus and benign monetary conditions had likely pushed the growth rate as fast as possible for now.

“The current pace is probably as good as it gets because we expect the impulse from financial conditions to gradually turn more negative,” Hatzius said.

Speaking to CNBC’s “Street Signs” on Thursday, Hatzius said U.S. growth would remain, however, well above the long-term trend as tax changes from the Donald Trump administration continued to benefit both businesses and consumers.